1.– My first word this time I came across whilst participating in the excellent meme ”Book Beginnings On Fridays’ and was used in the entry of meme host Gilion @ ‘Rose City Reader’.
I have obviously led a very sheltered life, because I promise you I had no idea what this word meant!
CATAMITE
It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me.
CATAMITE –
A boy kept for homosexual practices.
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2. – Next up is a word featured by another blogging acquaintance. This time the lovely Hila, from ‘The Sill of the World’, featured the word in her regular ‘Week In Seven Words’ post …
It lifted off from a chair-back,
Beating a smooth course for the right window
And clearing the sill of the world.
– Richard Wilbur, “The Writer”
OLID
A woman rolls down her stockings and washes her feet in a reeking rest stop.
OLID –
Having a strong, disagreeable smell; fetid.
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3. – This word featured in a book I read some time ago, and whilst I could have easily deduced its definition from the context in which it was used, I have never before seen the word written in this form and I needed to assure myself that its usage was indeed, part of the current English language.
CEMENTITIOUS
Insulated fibre board is a common used product in new resdential and commercial builds, and consists of a dense and strong sheet of glass fibre held together with a modern hybrid (cementitious) material, glued to a thick layer of solid foam insulation.
CEMENTITIOUS –
Of or relating to a chemical precipitate, especially of carbonates, having the characteristics of cement.
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… Is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we have encountered in our reading. It is hosted by Kathy, over at ‘BermudaOnion’s Weblog’.You can either stop by and leave a link to your own ‘mystery’ words of the week, or just browse the eclectic mix of words that others have discovered, there is always a great selection.
Don’t forget that Kathy and the rest of us, all love to read your comments as well, so that we can visit and share your words of the week!
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I’ve run across the first word, but not the second and third. I may find a way to use olid in a mystery, but it would be a stretch to work in the other – unless my protagonist finally lets go of her vow not to substitute in chemistry.
Have a great week, Yvonne.
Hi Carolyn,
I think that if you are trying to work cementitious into a storyline for Barbara Reed, she might need to consider swapping teaching for the building (construction) industry 🙂
Olid is a definite possibility for working into a storyline for Barbara though … Surely as a substitute teacher, she might need to cover a sports lesson, with all those smelly feet and obnoxious sweaty teenage hormones!
Thanks for taking the time to visit and comment. It is always good to hear from you and I hope that you are both well 🙂
Another fascinating selection. I obviously haven’t led as sheltered a life as I thought as I had previously come across catamite.
Olid is however a new word to me.
Hi Tracy,
Kelly suggests that you both know of catamite because of the amount of historical fiction you both read – Well! I’m obviously reading the wrong kind of historical fiction as well 🙂
I wasn’t sure about olid at first, however on reflection, it does sound a whole lot better than fetid, even though the stench may be just as bad!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Sorry to have taken so long in replying to your comment and I hope that storm Gertrude isn’t as bad for your area as they are forecasting – Down here in the south, they seem to have downgraded it a bit overnight.
All are new to me.
Hi Vicki,
I don’t know if I am more pleased when I visit a blog where all the words are new to me and I can learn a totally new vocabulary, or when I know at least one of the words so that I don’t feel quite so inadequate!
I hope that you had fun checking out these new words 🙂
You learn something new every day… I’d not heard of any of these 3 words before. Thanks for sharing them with us 🙂
Hi Nikki,
I always thought that my use of the English language and knowledge of word definitions, was pretty good. It wasn’t until I joined this meme, that I realised just how many words there are out there, that I had never come across before.
I wonder if I was simply skimming over unknown words in my reading, or perhaps guessing their meaning in relation to the storyline. Since I began blogging though, I always find myself with pen and paper to hand when I am reading, so that I can make a note of those new to me gems.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by, I always look forward to reading your comments 🙂
Never heard of any of them,interesting words.
Thanks for visiting Mary Ann.
Language to me, is so interesting and I always enjoy learning new words and definitions. However, it would be even better if I could remember many of them for more than a short time!
Enjoy the rest of your week 🙂
Like Tracy, I do know the word catamite. I’m going to say it’s because we both read a lot of historical fiction. 😉
Like you said, the last word is pretty obvious in meaning, but I feel certain I’ve never actually seen it used anywhere before.
The middle word is new to me.
I ran across quite a few words in The Lion Trees that I looked up (so easy to do with a Kindle!), but should have written down in anticipation of this meme.
Hi Kelly,
I put forward your suggestion to Tracy, about the amount of historical fiction which you both read, although as I too, do read historical from time to time, we are obviously travelling in different circles within the genre 🙂
I wasn’t sure whether to include cementitious in the post or not, in fact I wasn’t altogether convinced that it wasn’t a made-up word, until I checked it out on Google. A difficult word to work into everyday conversation, unless you are a builder, although sometimes it could be a good description for my porridge!
At over 1,600 pages, there must have been a couple of words and phrases in ‘The Lion Trees’, which were new to you. Perhaps you’ll recall them later, although after that marathon reading session, you probably don’t ever want to see the books again!
Sorry to have taken so long in responding to your comment, life just got in the way this week 🙂
Thanks so much for featuring ‘olid’ & the Week in 7 Words post 🙂 I forget where I first found ‘olid,’ only that I thought it was an interesting word to describe intense smelliness.
The first word I knew – if I had to guess, from reading a history book or article on ancient Greece. The third one is an amazing word, and I hadn’t heard about it.
Hi Hila,
I am always surprised at the many places I discover new words, apart from in my reading.
For me, that’s one of the main reasons I continue to blog, rather than rely completely on more transient social media streams. There are some really interesting posts to be found and of course those all important new words 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and long may ‘Week In Seven Words’ remain in the blogosphere 🙂
I guess I’ve lead a sheltered life too because I didn’t know the meaning of any of those words. I’m guessing a catamite is kept against his well so that makes it kind of sad to me.
Hi Kathy,
I’m not sure that a catamite is kept strictly against their will, although if you check out some of the both historical and modern day examples, as given by Wikipedia, I should imagine there is a very fine line drawn between consent and force!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catamite
Thanks for hosting and for taking the time to visit contributing blogs 🙂
You are not the only one, I had never heard of the word catamite either.
Interesting words this week, I enjoy Hila’s posts as well 🙂
Hi Naida,
Hila writes some great observational lines for her ‘Week In Seven Words’ posts, I always look forward to stopping by to check them out 🙂
I have a couple more words to share, which caught my eye in a book I finished some time ago, but after that I am bang up to date and searching for my next new ‘finds’.
Thanks for taking the trouble to visit older posts on Fiction Books. I appreciate the time this must take and I always love the comments you leave 🙂